Empowering Teachers through Experiential Learning: Effective Professional Development Strategies Inv

Professional development for teachers is ineffective if it fails to stimulate meaningful and lasting change in teaching practice. Improving teaching practice in developing countries, such as Rwanda, is crucial for achieving the country’s economic and social goals. This qualitative action research study explores the aspects of professional development required to support changes in teaching practice. The research was conducted at a rural international school in Rwanda and involved implementing a series of professional development activities focused on experiential learning theory.

Teachers were interviewed to determine which elements of the training supported improved teaching competencies. Participants came from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds. Interview responses confirmed prior research indicating that effective professional development must be active, provide ongoing support, and encourage collaboration. Additionally, the responses highlighted the importance of delivering appropriate content tailored to the audience. This content must possess the right level of novelty, immediate relevance, and clear expectations.

The study revealed that the style of leadership and involvement of the teacher trainer significantly influences changes in teaching practice. Teachers benefitted when concepts were made tangible through modeling and providing concrete examples and opportunities to implement the learned concepts. The data also suggested that cultural background impacts the level of change in teaching practice; however, insufficient data and background research limited the ability to draw adequate conclusions regarding these patterns. Several factors specific to the Rwandan context, which could affect the impact of professional development, were not covered in this study. Therefore, the next steps involve conducting similar research at a local school in Rwanda.